Gaining public trust a complex formula, research finds

Trust is the glue that holds communities together and drives dynamic cities, according to the authors of new research on attitudes toward Canada's best known public institutions and politicians.

The best and the brightest people are willing to move to a city that has quality news outlets, sound political leadership and a hockey team that delivers on its promises, said Rob Dawson, a partner at Vancouver-based Concerto Marketing Group. "And they'll pay more to live there."

Concerto uses a complex model of six psychological drivers to assess the level of trust a person or institution enjoys with the public: stability, innovation, relationship, value, vision and competence.

The results are a wake-up call to organizations that have suffered public relations setbacks.

"No one driver alone holds the answer to trust," said Nick Black, Concerto vice-president of strategic insight. "You could have the biggest vision in the world, but if you are weak in the other areas you won't be trusted."

"In order for politicians, institutions and organizations to build trust they need to focus their messages and action on these key areas," said Dawson.

Trust, even at the neighbourhood level, has real value, said Dawson. "When people trust their community, 85 per cent of them will recommend it to others."

That "referral effect" makes a city more attractive to skilled migrants, good corporate citizens and even tourists.

The Community Trust Report is based on November interviews with 1,502 Canadians from the Research Now online panel in the Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal metropolitan areas.

"Even though it takes a long time to build trust, it can take very little to destroy trust," said Sandra Robinson at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. "Just one serious transgression, or a few vivid events that stick in people's minds, and trust can be damaged for good."

Vancouver has a couple of notable millstones around its neck when it comes to trust, the study revealed.

Only 65 per cent of Vancouverites trust the Vancouver Police Department, considerably less than the 78 per cent of people in Toronto who trust the Toronto Police Service. The Montreal Police Service is trusted by 80 per cent of people in that community.

Half a year after the Stanley Cup riot shook Vancouver, respondents felt the VPD was "less able to deliver what they promise" and "they are less than great to deal with," the research revealed.

"People are questioning whether the values of the Vancouver Police Department are attractive and appealing to them," said Black.

The VPD has a long road back, but people generally believe that the force has a good foundation to build on, Black said.

The Vancouver Canucks, on the other hand, enjoy a high level of trust in their community compared to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Whether the riot hurt the Canucks' trust score isn't known, but the leadership of the Leafs has so far failed to vault that club above the Canucks or the Montreal Canadiens.

"[The Canucks] have delivered on their promises and they've gotten very close to delivering the ultimate prize," said Dawson.

The hockey club rated highest on measures of stability and innovation.

"There is a sense that they have a good foundation and people feel that they are staying up to date and relevant and that they have a plan for the future," said Black.

Other institutions have more work to do.

The interviews revealed that TransLink has the trust of only 47 per cent of the people it serves, while 62 per cent of Torontonians trust the Toronto Transit Commission.

Politicians get a fairly rough ride when it comes to trust and their numbers are predictably low. But B.C. politicians are at least as trusted as their counterparts in Ontario.

"People aren't convinced she can deliver what she promises," Black said.

Montreal respondents showed little trust in any of their political leaders; all scored under 24 per cent.

"Politicians overall are less trusted than people in your local neighbourhood," said Dawson. "People tend to put a high level of trust in the people they know."

Vancouver respondents gave their neighbours a soaring 76 per cent, Torontonians 82 per cent and Montrealers 84 per cent.

The formula for improving that score might be surprisingly simple.

Trust in neighbours is greatly enhanced when people get out and interact with each other, said Vancouver Foundation president and CEO Faye Wightman.

"A study we did earlier this year found that people in Metro Vancouver are retreating into silos created by language, income and geography and that when you do that, your level of trust goes down," she said. "When you aren't reaching out and you don't know people and you don't know what's going on, it's hard to trust."

rshore@vancouversun.com

FACTOID: The level of trust attributed to media outlets was high, but not without disparities. The CBC was the most trusted news source in all three cities. In Vancouver, people trusted The Vancouver Sun over the Globe and Mail.

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Gaining public trust a complex formula, research finds

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